BLUE ANGELS' LEADER PRAISED FOR TOUGH CHOICE TO RESIGN

In the finale of a Blue Angels' air show, all six pilots take their F/A-18
Hornets into a steep climb, roll their planes onto their backs and plummet
earthward. They recover with only seconds to spare, then rocket straight
toward each other.

When they cross paths, only yards between them, the audience, even as it
cheers, lets out a collective breath of relief.

And so do the fliers.

The demands of piloting jets that fly with less than two feet between wing
tips, or scream at each other at closing speeds of 1,000 miles per hour, are
great.

The pressure on the flight leader to pull off the show for the glory of the
Navy, while keeping everyone safe, is excruciating.

Cmdr. Donnie Cochran, who resigned Tuesday as leader of the Navy's
precision flying team, was widely praised Wednesday for having the courage to
recognize that he had lost his edge and had to act in the interest of safety.

``He's to be complimented,'' Cmdr. Kevin Wensing, a Navy spokesman, said.
``I think it's pretty noble of him to do that.''

In a precision flying team that has not lost a pilot since 1985, safety is
priority number one.

``It was an extremely demanding decision on Commander Cochran's part,''
said retired Vice Admiral Anthony A. Less, former commander of the Atlantic
Fleet Naval Air Force and a past Blue Angels' team leader.

``In your mind, there's no one that ever wants to acknowledge that his
abilities are not just as good as the next guy. And he had to acknowledge the
fact that his abilities in the air would not carry this organization through
the entire year without an accident.

``It would be extremely difficult to admit that,'' said Less. ``But once he
admits it, I would think it would be a real load off his shoulders.''

Cochran called off the Angels' performances at Oceana Naval Air Station in
Virginia Beach last September because of what he believed were flaws in his
flying. In particular, it was the show-ending ``low break cross'' maneuver
that he felt was improperly lined up.

``There were certainly mistakes that were being made, not the type of
mistakes that will end up, you know, four or five airplanes flying into the
ground,'' Cochran said Wednesday at Pensacola Naval Air Station, where the
squadron is based.

But strict safety parameters cannot be exceeded even in the slightest, he
said.

``Once you start nibbling on the edges, occasionally extend those and start
exceeding those limitations then you have to start questioning,'' he said.

``I have nothing to be ashamed of,'' he said. ``I can hold my head high
with pride. I haven't crashed any airplanes, none of my pilots has crashed an
airplane, none of my pilots have been hurt.''

Cochran, 42, said he based his decision strictly on his judgment of his
professional performance, not a behind-the-scenes problem such as a family or
health concern.

``The decision, when it came before me - the right stars aligned, you might
say, and it was pretty evident to me that I needed to take some action to
preclude some type of mishap from occurring,'' he said.

Cochran's resignation prompted the cancellation of at least the next three
scheduled performances: June 1-2 in Chattanooga, Tenn., June 8-9 in South
Weymouth, Mass., and June 15-16 in Oklahoma City. Other cancellations may
follow, depending on how fast a replacement can be found, the Navy said.

Cochran, of Pelham, Ga., was the first and only black pilot to fly with the
Blue Angels. He was with the aerobatic team from 1985 to 1988, and returned in
1994 to succeed Cmdr. Robert Stumpf.

The Blues begin training over the desert in El Centro, Calif., each
January. With three new members in the six-member team each year, they perfect
the complex show gradually, working their planes closer and closer together.

From April through November they put on two shows nearly every weekend,
with practices most of the rest of each week.

The team leader flies the Number One plane in the famous diamond formation,
chanting orders for each maneuver. He can't see the others in the formation
and must make his climbs and rolls exactly the same every time.

``If you allow your mind to lose sight of what you're doing, you're prone
to make mistakes,'' Cochran said in April. ``There's something happening all
the time, and you have to be ahead of it in order to stay in your position and
to put the aircraft where you need to put it.''

``Flying an air show is great. Flying a dangerous one is not,'' said Flight
Surgeon Andrew Nelson, whose job is to keep the team alive and healthy.

There's no room for mistakes, although little ones, invisible to spectators
on the ground, are made all the time.

``I was there. I made my share,'' former team leader Less said. ``It's a
pressure job.''
MEMO: The Associated Press contributed to this report.
ILLUSTRATION: Color photo